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JUST ASS-KISSING Kudos to Eugene Weekly for placing the disclaimer at the end of Valdas Anelauskas's viewpoint article (2/24) noting that Ward Churchill has some history with Anelauskas. It became quite clear to me that the bulk of the article was nothing more than thinly veiled ass-kissing on Anelauskas's part. Anelauskas asserts that because of the U.S.'s continued violent crimes against the rest of the world, 9/11 was a well-deserved, long overdue payday for America. He then uses Hiroshima as one example of our bloody crimes. I would think that Anelauskas would argue that Hiroshima was a well deserved payday for the Japanese people because of the Japanese government's actions at the time. It appears as though Anelauskas is simply stomping his feet and throwing a temper tantrum because his buddy Ward Churchill is not blindly accepted as being truthful. Doug Lane, Junction City
WRONG DIRECTION Regarding the LTD labor representative's contention that we don't need capital investment projects like the EmX (the planned rapid bus corridor between Eugene and Springfield): The EmX will make travel to Springfield less convenient, not more. I spoke with an LTD representative about the EmX, and he admitted that this first route alone will not add convenience; that in fact it would take 20 to 30 years and many more dollars before the other lines will add up and achieve real bus convenience: rigging the entire metro area into compatible systems. Given how rapidly technology is changing, it is most likely that better transportation technologies will appear before that time. I just can't see us withholding fair labor treatment of the drivers and continuing a trend of route-cutting over money for this project when this will discourage existing bus customers, not attract more. We can just switch to hybrid electric buses (which is now the industry standard anyway) without having to widen roads and build platforms. Let's return the money to the feds, keep our 20 percent, and tell them, "No thanks, we support our drivers." If we want cleaner air in Eugene, we should beautify the parks, put filters on the factories, and stop ugly strip malls — so people choose to walk and aren't in such a hurry to drive out of it all the time. Cathy Seitz, Eugene
START AT HOME Are the Lane County Circuit Court judges fighting for equality rights? Being that Eugene is a city filled with activists, hippies and minorities, and is such a widely diversified city — why is it that gay rights activists are traveling to the capitol for this issue: gay/lesbian marriage. Should we not all start right here in Lane County? Then move up in the chain? Don't get me wrong — Eugene's finest traveled the 60 miles to the state Capitol and fought for our rights. The main question here is: What are Lane County judges willing to do for gays and lesbians? I would sure like to know. What about you? Brian M. Peterson, Native Eugene homosexual
WHAT'S NEXT? It has started. Measure 37 claims have begun rolling in, and eight waivers have been granted in Yamhill and Jackson counties. County commissioners have first approved the least problematic applications, but what's next? Many Oregonians live here and love their state because of quality of life. Our quality of life results in large part from Oregon's system of land use planning. Having grown up in a small coastal town near San Francisco, I have come to appreciate the benefits of intelligent and rigorous land use planning. Half Moon Bay is made up of farmers, ranchers and fishermen, as well as urbanites who value the sanctuary outside of the city. Area residents value the quality of life in town, and have presented only rare challenges to the town's land use laws. As a result, the town has retained its small town charm and historic character. Ten miles to the east, lack of land use planning has created a different landscape. Along Highway 101, single family homes, fast food restaurants and industrial complexes mingle to create a jumble of development which stretches for miles and is an eyesore. No one wants Oregon to resemble a California suburb. The passage and potential abuse of Measure 37 presents this potential. With every Measure 37 waiver, Oregon's quality of life is slowly eroded. The few large, corporate landowners that funded Measure 37 should not be permitted to take our way of life away from us. Erin Ganahl, Eugene
MEAN-SPIRITED As a theater reviewer, I found Sabrina Siegel's diatribe (2/24) against Lois Wadsworth's film reviews to be unfair and mean-spirited. Most people don't know how difficult it is to consistently deliver reviews that are thoughtful and well balanced, which Lois's reviews almost always are. She expresses her opinions and knowledge sincerely and humanely, never flippantly. No reviewer in the world can please his or her most devoted fan all of the time, not even if that fan is Mom. So Sabrina, if you disagree with all of Lois's reviews (which I find unlikely), be grateful you've found a barometer you can trust, and please search for a more important outlet for your rage. Dorothy Velasco, Eugene
LACK OF BALANCE In our capitalist system, I see four competing interests: the manager, the owner, the worker and the customer. More people are winners if these interests are balanced. The crux of the dispute between LTD and its workers is a loss of balance. Despite the tough economy of the last few years, there was much balance — the workers went without raises, the customers dealt with service reductions, the owners (all of us) held investment (tax rates) steady, and the managers were frugal. All this while health care costs were going up, putting pressure on everyone. Now the balance has changed as managers have opened the spigot on just one kind of expenditure — their new rapid transit plan costing millions — and cut back on all the rest. Now workers are expected to work essentially for less, customers are expected to take more service cuts, and the public may be asked for a tax increase. This issue is very clear. When things go out of balance they don't work well, they cause pain, they even stop working at all. I support the union. From their special perspective they are leading the effort to get LTD back in balance. I call on the LTD Board and the governor who oversees them to join that effort. We all need each other. Tim Mueller, Eugene
SEEKING VALIDATION One can find an argument which validates virtually, any position. No matter how righteous one's cause is, the degree to which we fault others in justification of our own position directly reflects the degree to which we not only disempower ourselves, but also the cause we hold dear. Dylan Freeman, Eugene
GETTING GOATS Thank you for printing the nice article (2/17) about our raw goat milk. Over the years we have sold several goats to decrease our goat herd size. After talking to other goat herd owners, many of us have decided to screen the buyers. There are too many ignorant would-be goat owners. Contrary to popular belief, goats DO need access to water. They also need shelter — a simple lean-to can be sufficient, except in harsh winter weather. Tethering goats out to eat brush is not necessary and leaves them wide open to being the prey of large predators. Tethered goats have been slaughtered by cougar and stray dogs even at the city limits of Eugene. Goats are sensitive yet hardy, industrious and entertaining, as well as very intelligent. Simple, solid fences are usually adequate to curtail their wandering. Don't expect a blackberry hedge to be a decent fence. They will eat their way through in a short time. Goats do love to eat brush, but their diets need to be supplemented with a small amount of grain and a mineralized (selenium) salt block. Above all, keep them away from rhododendron, dry or green. It is very poisonous to goats. They should never be a lone animal. Preferring their own kind, they can also be companions to horses, ponies, llamas, and sheep. Since dogs have a tendency to chase other animals, goats are not recommended as an additional pet. My cat sleeps with the goats. If any of your readers are now discouraged from being a goat owner — good! They are not like cats or dogs and should never be treated the same. They can make fine house pets, and are very smart at toilet training. Just like other young housepets, they will chew on anything and everything. If it tastes good, they will probably try to eat it. No tin cans, only the labels. Vicky Wade, Deadwood
FLUFFY CONTENT I'm reading the online version of this week's (2/17) EW, and I click on a story about bettering our bodies. Now, me being the liberal woman that I am, and being that I'm reading a "progressive" newspaper, I'm thinking I'm going to get a great story about healthy living. What I get instead is an article on tanning products featuring flat bellies. First of all, let me point out the obvious — we live in the Pacific Northwest, we're supposed to look all pasty and white in the winter. Second — if I want to read about beauty products, such as the ones featured in the article, I'll just go pick up the latest edition of any mainstream magazine whose focus is women. EW is not the paper I picked up seven years ago when I came to Eugene. I was thrilled to discover it back then, after coming from southwestern Virginia. It was a paper that reflected my values as a liberal woman, a paper that covered important issues to me as a liberal woman, a paper that differed from the norm. First it's the sex ads, and now it's articles like this? When did liberal values change to include telling women they must look a certain way to be acceptable by society? When did fluff pieces become good journalism? I guess I expect too much from the "alternative" paper in Eugene, Oregon. M. Brooke Robertshaw, Eugene
SUE THEM BACK At last the Kyoto agreement is in effect in all major countries except "the land of the free and the home of the brave," the biggest polluters. If others around the world cut back on consumption, that leaves more for us, right? But at least California has been brave enough to adopt a measure insisting on higher fuel efficiency. Now automakers here and abroad want to sue them for limiting profits. I think we should have a class-action counter-suit against them for their role in causing global warming, other pollution, oil depletion and wars. It seems like we'd have a much better case, and between the two we'd at least get the discussion going about what we need to change. "If we don't have an economic collapse soon, something terrible is going to happen!" says Frank de Jong, leader of the Green Party of Ontario. Dan Robinson, Eugene
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